Glossary of terms
Content pillars
Contents
Content pillars are the main thematic areas around which a brand builds its communication. There are usually three to five of them, and they are repeated over a period of months, not just in a single post.
Last updated: 8 September 2026
What does that mean?
Why limit yourself to just a few topics?
A brand that writes about everything isn’t associated with anything in particular. Models build an association with a category based on repetition: the more often a company speaks out on a particular topic, the more reliably it is mentioned in response to a question on that topic.
The pillars stem from what the company actually does and what customers are asking for. It’s worth checking them against the queries you’re monitoring: if no pillar matches the phrase you want to rank for, you’re missing one.
FAQ
Questions about this concept
The questions most frequently asked in connection with this concept.
How many pillars should a brand have?
Usually between three and five. Fewer narrow the scope of communication; more blur the association with the category.
Can the pillars be changed?
Yes, but rarely. It takes months to build up that association, so changing it every quarter sets the process back to square one.
Where do you enter the pillars in Aelo?
In ‘Brand Identity’, under ‘Brand Settings’. From there, they are transferred to ‘Brand Knowledge’ and to the briefs in the Studio.
Find out what the models associate you with
To start with, you get 250 AeloCoins, without a card. That’s enough to run a scan and test the modules. Once you’ve used them up, you switch to a paid plan. The first scan shows which categories the brand ranks in and which it doesn’t feature in.
